Multilayer ceramic electronic component

ABSTRACT

A multilayer ceramic electronic component includes: a ceramic body including a dielectric layer and first and second internal electrodes stacked to be alternately exposed to one side surface and the other side surface with the dielectric layer disposed therebetween; and first and second external electrodes disposed on an external surface of the ceramic body to be connected to the first and second internal electrodes, respectively, in which the ceramic body includes an area of overlap in a thickness direction of the first and second internal electrodes, margin region, and/or cover region, and the margin region in the width direction and/or the cover region includes a phosphoric acid-based second phase.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/166,771, filed on Oct. 22, 2018, which claimsbenefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0106001filed on Sep. 5, 2018 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent.

BACKGROUND

A multilayer ceramic electronic component has been widely used as aninformation technology (IT) component of a computer, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a cellular phone, and the like, since it has a smallsize, implements high capacitance, may be easily mounted, and has beenwidely used as an electrical component, and since it has highreliability and high strength characteristics.

Moistureproof reliability and hardness of a ceramic body included in themultilayer ceramic electronic component may deteriorate due to shrinkageafter sintering of internal electrodes.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present disclosure may provide a multilayer ceramicelectronic component capable of improving moistureproof reliability andhardness depending on a physical crosslinking effect of a second phaseand a low-temperature chemical sintering effect of a phosphoric acidtype by including the second phase in a region (margin region and/orcover region in a width direction) closer to an outside than an internalelectrode in a ceramic body.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a multilayer ceramicelectronic component may include: a ceramic body including a dielectriclayer and first and second internal electrodes stacked to be alternatelyexposed to one side surface and the other side surface with thedielectric layer disposed therebetween; and first and second externalelectrodes disposed on an external surface of the ceramic body to beconnected to the first and second internal electrodes, respectively, inwhich the ceramic body includes an area of overlap in a thicknessdirection of the first and second internal electrodes and margin regionsin a width direction, located on one side and the other side in a widthdirection of the area of overlap, and the margin regions in the widthdirection include a phosphoric acid-based phase.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a multilayerceramic electronic component may include: a ceramic body including adielectric layer and first and second internal electrodes stacked to bealternately exposed to one side surface and the other side surface withthe dielectric layer disposed therebetween; and first and secondexternal electrodes disposed on an external surface of the ceramic bodyto be connected to the first and second internal electrodes,respectively, in which the ceramic body includes an area of overlap in athickness direction of the first and second internal electrodes andcover regions located on one side and the other side of the area ofoverlap in a thickness direction, and the cover regions include aphosphoric acid-based second phase.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A′ of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of region S of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4A through 4G are diagrams showing various distributions of asecond phase of the multilayer ceramic electronic component according tothe exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a mounting form of the multilayerceramic electronic component according to the exemplary embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 6A is a scanning electron microscope (SEM) diagram showing a marginregion in a width direction that does not include a phosphoricacid-based second phase;

FIG. 6B is an SEM diagram showing the margin region in the widthdirection that includes the phosphoric acid-based second phase;

FIG. 6C is an electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) mapping diagramshowing a cover region that does not include the phosphoric acid-basedsecond phase; and

FIG. 6D is an EPMA mapping diagram showing a cover region that includesthe phosphoric acid-based second phase.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A′ ofFIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of region S of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 3, a multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure may include a ceramic body 110 and first and second externalelectrodes 131 and 132.

The ceramic body 110 may be formed in a hexahedron having both sidesurfaces in a length direction L, both side surfaces in a widthdirection W, and both side surfaces in a thickness direction T. Theceramic body 110 may be formed by stacking a plurality of dielectriclayers 111 in the thickness direction T and then sintering the pluralityof dielectric layers 111. A shape and a dimension of the ceramic body110 and the number (one or more) of stacked dielectric layers 111 arenot limited as shown in the exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

The plurality of dielectric layers 111 disposed in the ceramic body 110may be in a sintered state. Adjacent dielectric layers 111 may beintegrated with each other so that boundaries therebetween are notreadily apparent without using a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

For example, the ceramic body 110 may be formed in a hexahedron havingeight rounded vertexes. Accordingly, durability and reliability of theceramic body 110 may be improved, and structural reliability of thefirst and second external electrodes 131 and 132 at the corners may beimproved.

A thickness of the dielectric layer 111 may be arbitrarily changed inaccordance with a capacity design of the multilayer ceramic capacitor100, and the dielectric layer 111 may include high-k ceramic powders,for example, barium titanate (BaTiO₃) based powders or strontiumtitanate (SrTiO₃) based powders. However, the material of the dielectriclayer 111 is not limited thereto. In addition, for the purpose of thepresent disclosure, various ceramic additives, organic solvents,plasticizers, binders, dispersants and the like may be added to theceramic powders.

An average particle size of the ceramic powder used to form thedielectric layer 111 is not particularly limited, but may be adjusted inorder to accomplish an object of the present disclosure. For example,the average particle size of the ceramic powder may be adjusted to be400 nm or less. Accordingly, the multilayer ceramic electronic component100 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure maybe used as a part greatly demanding miniaturization and high capacitylike IT parts.

For example, the dielectric layer 111 may be formed by applying slurryformed of a powder, such as barium titanate (BaTiO₃), to a carrier filmand drying the slurry to prepare a plurality of ceramic sheets. Theceramic sheet may be manufactured by mixing the ceramic powder, thebinder, and the solvent to produce a slurry and producing the slurry ina sheet form having a thickness of several μm by a doctor blade method,but the manufacturing method of the ceramic sheet is not limitedthereto.

First and second internal electrodes 121 and 122 may have at least onefirst internal electrode 121 and at least one second internal electrode122 having different polarities from each other and may be formed tohave a predetermined thickness with the plurality of dielectric layers111 stacked in the thickness direction T of the ceramic body 110disposed therebetween.

The first internal electrode 121 and the second internal electrode 122may be formed by printing a conductive paste including a conductivemetal so as to be alternately exposed to one side and the other side inthe length direction L of the ceramic body 110 along a stacked directionof the dielectric layer 111 and may be electrically insulated from eachother by the dielectric layer 111 disposed therebetween.

That is, the first and second internal electrodes 121 and 122 may beelectrically connected to respectively the first and second externalelectrodes 131 and 132 formed on both side surfaces in the lengthdirection of the ceramic body 110 through the parts alternately exposedto both side surfaces in the length direction of the ceramic body 110.

For example, the first and second internal electrodes 121 and 122 may beformed of a conductive paste for internal electrodes including aconductive metal powder having an average particle size of 0.1 to 0.2 μmand 40 to 50% by weight, but the first and second internal electrodes121 and 122 are not necessarily formed as described above.

The conductive paste for the internal electrodes may be applied on theceramic sheet by a printing method or the like to form an internalelectrode pattern. As a method of printing the conductive paste, ascreen printing method, a gravure printing method or the like may beused. However, the method of printing the conductive paste is notlimited thereto. The ceramic sheet on which the internal electrodepattern is printed may be stacked by 200 to 300 layers and thencompressed and sintered to manufacture the ceramic body 110.

Therefore, if a voltage is applied to the first and second externalelectrodes 131 and 132, charges may be accumulated between the first andsecond internal electrodes 121 and 122 facing each other. In this case,the capacitance of the multilayer ceramic capacitor 100 may be inproportion to an area of a region in which the first and second internalelectrodes 121 and 122 overlap each other.

That is, when the area of the region in which the first and secondinternal electrodes 121 and 122 overlap each other is as large aspossible, the capacitance may be as large as possible even in capacitorsof the same size.

An average thickness of each of the first and second internal electrodes121 and 122 may be determined depending on the usage, and may be, forexample, 0.4 μm or less. In addition, the number of first and secondinternal electrodes 121 and 122 may be 400 layers or more. Accordingly,the multilayer ceramic electronic component 100 according to theexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may be used as a partgreatly demanding miniaturization and high capacity like IT parts.

An average thickness of the dielectric layer 111 may be determineddepending on the usage, and may be, for example, 0.4 μm or less. Sincethe thickness of the dielectric layer 111 corresponds to a gap betweenthe first and second internal electrodes 121 and 122, the capacitance ofthe multilayer ceramic electronic component 100 may be increased as thethickness of the dielectric layer 111 is decreased.

Meanwhile, the conductive metal included in the conductive paste formingthe first and second internal electrodes 121 and 122 may be formed ofnickel (Ni), copper (Cu), palladium (Pd), silver (Ag), lead (Pb),platinum (Pt) or the like, alone or an alloy thereof. However, theconductive metal is not limited thereto.

Each of the first and second external electrodes 131 and 132 may bedisposed on an external surface of the ceramic body 110 so as to beconnected to the first and second internal electrodes 121 and 122, andmay be configured to electrically connect between the first and secondinternal electrodes 121 and 122 and a substrate.

Each of the first and second external electrodes 131 and 132 may includefirst and second plating layers 131 c and 132 c for at least some ofstructural reliability, easiness of mounting on a substrate, durabilityagainst the outside, heat resistance, and equivalent series resistance(ESR).

For example, the first and second plating layers 131 c and 132 c may beformed by sputtering or electrolytic deposition. However, the first andsecond plating layers 131 c and 132 c is not necessarily formed asdescribed above.

For example, the first and second plating layers 131 c and 132 c maycontain the most nickel, and first and second plating layers 131 c and132 c may be formed of copper (Cu), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), gold(Au), silver (Ag) or lead (Pb) or the like, alone or an alloy thereofwithout limitation.

Meanwhile, each of the first and second external electrodes 131 and 132may further include first and second base electrode layers 131 a and 132a which are disposed between the first and second internal electrodes121 and 122 and the first and second plating layers 131 c and 132 c, andat least partially contact the outside of the ceramic body 110.

The first and second base electrode layers 131 a and 132 a may be easilycoupled to the first and second internal electrodes 121 and 122 relativeto the first and second plating layers 131 c and 132 c, such that acontact resistance to the first and second internal electrodes 121 and122 may be reduced.

The first and second base electrode layers 131 a and 132 a may bedisposed in the inner regions of the first and second plating layers 131c and 132 c in the first and second external electrodes 131 and 132.

For example, the first base electrode layer 131 a may be covered withthe first plating layer 131 c and first conductive resin layer 131 b soas not to be exposed to the outside of the multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent 100, and the second base electrode layer 132 a may be coveredwith the second plating layer 132 c and second conductive resin layer132 b so as not to be exposed to the outside of the multilayer ceramicelectronic component 100.

For example, the first and second base electrode layers 131 a and 132 amay be formed by a method of dipping a paste including a metal componentor a method of printing a conductive paste including a conductive metalon at least one surface in the thickness direction T of the ceramic body110, and may also be formed by a sheet transfer method and a padtransfer method.

For example, the first and second base electrode layers 131 a and 132 amay be formed of copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), palladium (Pd), platinum(Pt), gold (Au), silver (Ag), lead (Pb) or the like, alone or an alloythereof.

The first and second external electrodes 131 and 132 may further includefirst and second conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b which aredisposed between the first base electrode layer 131 a and the firstplating layer 131 c and between the second base electrode layer 132 aand the second plating layer 132 c, respectively.

Since the first and second conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b haverelatively higher flexibility than the first and second plating layers131 c and 132 c, the first and second conductive resin layers 131 b and132 b may protect external physical impact or bending impact of themultilayer ceramic electronic component 100 and prevent the externalelectrode from being cracked by absorbing a stress or a tensile stressapplied upon being mounted on the substrate.

For example, the first and second conductive resin layers 131 b and 132b may have a structure in which conductive particles such as copper(Cu), nickel (Ni), palladium (Pd), gold (Au), silver (Ag) and lead (Pb)are included in a resin having high flexibility such as a glass and anepoxy resin, and thus may have high flexibility and high conductivity.

The first and second external electrodes 131 and 132 may further includefirst and second tin plating layers 131 d and 132 d disposed on externalsurfaces of the first and second plating layers 131 c and 132 c,respectively. The first and second tin plating layers 131 d and 132 dmay further improve at least some of structural reliability, easiness ofmounting on the substrate, durability against the outside, heatresistance, and equivalent series resistance value.

FIGS. 4A through 4G are diagrams showing various distributions of asecond phase of the multilayer ceramic electronic component according tothe exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4B, 4D and 4F are sectional views taken along the line I-I′ ofFIG. 4A, and FIGS. 4C, 4E and 4G are sectional views taken along theline II-II′ of FIG. 4A.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, the ceramic body 110 includes an area ofoverlap La in the thickness direction of the first and second internalelectrodes 121 and 122, and margin regions Mw in the width direction,located on one side and the other side in the width direction of thearea of overlap La.

The margin region Mw in the width direction may include a phosphoricacid-based second phase Sw. For example, the margin region Mw in thewidth direction may have a short length in the width direction like 10μm or less. When the length of the width direction of the margin regionMw in the width direction is short, a ratio of the area of overlap La tothe ceramic body 110 may be increased, so the capacitance of the ceramicbody 110 may be increased.

When the length in the width direction of the margin region Mw in thewidth direction is short, the moistureproof reliability and hardness ofthe margin region Mw in the width direction may generally deteriorate.However, the multilayer ceramic electronic component according to theexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes the marginregion Mw in the width direction including the phosphoric acid-basedsecond phase Sw, such that even if the length in the width direction ofthe margin region Mw in the width direction is short, the moistureproofreliability and hardness may be prevented from deteriorating.

The phosphoric acid-based second phase Sw may be physically crossed toadjacent phosphoric acid-based second phases to be physically linked tothe adjacent phosphoric acid-based second phases. Accordingly, theceramic body 110 may withstand external physical impacts well, and amoisture infiltration path into the ceramic body 110 may be blocked.

In addition, the phosphoric acid-based second phase Sw may improve agrain density of the ceramic body 110 according to the low-temperaturechemical sintering effect of the phosphoric acid type. Accordingly, theceramic body 110 may withstand external physical impacts well, and themoisture infiltration path into the ceramic body 110 may be blocked.

That is, the phosphoric acid-based second phase Sw may relatively moreimprove the moistureproof reliability and hardness of the ceramic body110 than other second phases.

The phosphoric acid-based second phase Sw may have an acicular shape ora rhomboid shape having a major axis D1 and a minor axis D2. Thephosphoric acid-based second phase Sw may greatly improve themoistureproof reliability and hardness of the ceramic body 110 when thelength of the major axis D1 is 0.5 μm or more and 2 μm or less.

For example, the length of the major axis D1 of the phosphoricacid-based second phase Sw may be adjusted by adjusting an oxygenpartial pressure at the time of forming the ceramic body 110, but is notlimited thereto. For example, the length of the major axis D1 of thephosphoric acid-based second phase Sw may be adjusted by adjusting acontent of P, depending on how much a content of additive elements suchas Ba and Si is and/or adjusting a content of the additive elements.

The phosphoric acid-based second phase Sw may further include Ba and Si,in which Ba and Si can improve control reliability of the length of themajor axis D1 of the phosphoric acid-based second phase Sw and/or adistribution ratio of the phosphoric acid-based second phase Sw. Thedistribution ratio of the phosphoric acid-based second phase can referto a number of phosphoric acid-based second phases in one unit volume.

The ceramic body 110 may include a cover region Lc located on one sideand the other side in the thickness direction of the area of overlap La.

Referring to FIG. 4C, the cover region Lc may include the phosphoricacid-based second phase Sc. For example, the cover region Lc may have ashort length in the thickness direction like 20 μm or less. When thelength of the thickness direction of the cover region Lc is short, aratio of the area of overlap La to the ceramic body 110 may beincreased, so the capacitance of the ceramic body 110 may be increased.

When a length in a thickness direction of the cover region Lc is short,the moistureproof reliability and the hardness of the cover region Lcmay generally deteriorate. However, the multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure includes the cover region Lc including the phosphoricacid-based second phase Sc, such that even if the length in thethickness direction of the cover region Lc is short, the moistureproofreliability and hardness may be prevented from deteriorating.

The improvement principle of the moistureproof reliability and hardness,the length of the major length, and the additive elements of thephosphoric acid-based second phase Sc included in the cover region Lcmay be similar to those of the phosphoric acid-based second phase Swincluded in the margin region Mw in the width direction.

Referring to FIGS. 4D and 4E, the ceramic body 110 includes the marginregion Mw in the width direction including the phosphoric acid-basedsecond phase Sw, the cover region Lc including the phosphoric acid-basedsecond phase Sc, and a margin region M_(L) in the length direction. Inthe margin region M_(L) in the length direction, only the first internalelectrodes 121 or only the second internal electrodes 122 overlap witheach other. The margin region M_(L) may include the phosphoricacid-based second phase S_(L), such that even if the length of themargin region M_(L) is relatively short, the moistureproof reliabilityand hardness may not be deteriorated.

Accordingly, the moistureproof resistance reliability and hardness ofthe ceramic body 110 may be further improved.

Referring to FIGS. 4F and 4G, the distribution ratio of the phosphoricacid-based second phase of the margin region Mw in the width direction,and/or the distribution ratio of the phosphoric acid-based second phaseof the cover region Lc in the thickness direction is larger than that ofthe phosphoric acid-based second phase of the area of overlap La, and/orthe distribution ratio of the phosphoric acid-based second phase of themargin region M_(L) in the length direction is larger than that of thephosphoric acid-based second phase of the area in which the first andsecond internal electrodes 121 and 122 overlap with each other.

Accordingly, the improvement ratio of the moistureproof reliability andhardness against costs for forming the phosphoric acid-based secondphase of the ceramic body 110 may be further increased.

Meanwhile, the thickness of the first and second external electrodes 131and 132 may be as short as 20 μm or less. As a result, the multilayerceramic electronic component may be miniaturized, and the manufacturingcosts of the multilayer ceramic electronic component may be reduced.

When the thickness of the first and second external electrodes 131 and132 is short, the moistureproof reliability and hardness of the ceramicbody 110 may generally deteriorate. However, the ceramic body 110includes the phosphoric acid-based second phase, such that even if thethickness of the first and second external electrodes 131 and 132 isshort, the moistureproof reliability and hardness may be prevented fromdeteriorating.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a mounting form of a multilayerceramic electronic component according to the exemplary embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, the multilayer ceramic electronic component 100according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may beelectrically connected to a substrate 210, including first and secondsolders 230 connected to the first and second external electrodes 131and 132, respectively.

For example, the substrate 210 may include first and second electrodepads 221 and 222, and the first and second solders 230 may be disposedon the first and second electrode pads 221 and 222, respectively.

If the corners of the ceramic body 110 are round, the first and secondsolders 230 may be stably connected to the first and second externalelectrodes 131 and 132 as the first and second solders 230 are filled inan extra space corresponding to the rounded corners of the ceramic body110.

The first and second solders 230 may be further tightly coupled to thefirst and second external electrodes 131 and 132 according to a reflowprocess. The multilayer ceramic electronic component 100 according tothe exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may have the mountingreliability while having the relatively thin first and second externalelectrodes 131 and 132 to prevent the first and second solders 230 frombeing disconnected during the reflow.

FIG. 6A is a scanning electron microscope (SEM) diagram showing a marginregion in a width direction that does not include a phosphoricacid-based second phase, FIG. 6B is an SEM diagram showing the marginregion in the width direction that includes the phosphoric acid-basedsecond phase, FIG. 6C is an electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) mappingdiagram showing a cover region that does not include the phosphoricacid-based second phase, and FIG. 6D is an EPMA mapping diagram showinga cover region that includes the phosphoric acid-based second phase.

Due to the phosphoric acid-based second phase in some regions in theceramic body, for example, the margin region in the width directionaccording to FIG. 6B and the cover region according to FIG. 6D, themultilayer ceramic electronic component may improve moistureproofreliability and hardness, as compared to the examples shown in FIGS. 6Aand 6C, respectively.

As set forth above, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the multilayer ceramic electronic component may improvemoistureproof reliability and hardness depending on the physicalcrosslinking effect of the phosphoric acid-based second phase and thelow-temperature chemical sintering effect of a phosphoric acid type byincluding the phosphoric acid-based second phase in the region (marginregion and/or cover region in the width direction) closer to the outsidethan the internal electrode in the ceramic body.

While exemplary embodiments have been shown and described above, it willbe apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications andvariations could be made without departing from the scope of the presentinvention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A multilayer ceramic electronic component,comprising: a ceramic body including a dielectric layer and first andsecond internal electrodes stacked to be alternately exposed from oneend surface and another end surface in a length direction with thedielectric layer disposed therebetween; and first and second externalelectrodes disposed on the one end surface and the another end surfaceof the ceramic body and connected to the first and second internalelectrodes, respectively, wherein the ceramic body includes an area ofoverlap in a thickness direction of the first and second internalelectrodes, and margin regions disposed on one side and another side ina width direction of the area of overlap, respectively, the marginregions in the width direction include a phosphoric acid-based secondphase, and the phosphoric acid-based second phase has an acicular shapeor a rhomboid shape.
 2. The multilayer ceramic electronic component ofclaim 1, wherein a major axis of the phosphoric acid-based second phaseis 0.5 μm or more and 2 μm or less.
 3. The multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent of claim 1, wherein the margin regions in the width directionhave a length in the width direction of 10 μm or less.
 4. The multilayerceramic electronic component of claim 1, wherein the phosphoricacid-based second phase further includes Ba and Si.
 5. The multilayerceramic electronic component of claim 1, wherein an average thickness ofthe dielectric layer disposed between the first and second internalelectrodes is 0.4 μm or less, an average thickness of each of the firstand second internal electrodes is 0.4 μm or less, and the number oflayers of the first and second internal electrodes is 400 layers ormore.
 6. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 1, whereina distribution ratio of the phosphoric acid-based second phase of themargin regions in the width direction is larger than that of anotherphosphoric acid-based second phase of the area of overlap.
 7. Themultilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 1, wherein the ceramicbody further includes cover regions located on an upper side and a lowerside of the area of overlap in the thickness direction, and the coverregions include the phosphoric acid-based second phase.
 8. Themultilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 7, wherein each of thecover regions has a thickness of 20 μm or less and is thicker than thefirst and second external electrodes, respectively.
 9. The multilayerceramic electronic component of claim 1, wherein the phosphoricacid-based second phase is physically linked to another phosphoricacid-based second phase.
 10. A multilayer ceramic electronic component,comprising: a ceramic body including a dielectric layer and first andsecond internal electrodes stacked to be alternately exposed from oneend surface and another end surface in a length direction with thedielectric layer disposed therebetween; and first and second externalelectrodes disposed on the one end surface and the another end surfaceof the ceramic body and connected to the first and second internalelectrodes, respectively, wherein the ceramic body includes an area ofoverlap in a thickness direction of the first and second internalelectrodes and cover regions located on one side and the other side ofthe area of overlap in the thickness direction, the cover regionsinclude a phosphoric acid-based second phase, and the phosphoricacid-based second phase has an acicular shape or a rhomboid shape. 11.The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 10, wherein a majoraxis of the phosphoric acid-based second phase is 0.5 μm or more and 2μm or less.
 12. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 10,wherein each of the cover regions has a thickness of 20 μm or less. 13.The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 10, wherein thephosphoric acid-based second phase further includes Ba and Si.
 14. Themultilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 10, wherein adistribution ratio of the phosphoric acid-based second phase of thecover regions is larger than that of another phosphoric acid-basedsecond phase of the area of overlap.
 15. The multilayer ceramicelectronic component of claim 10, wherein an average thickness of thedielectric layer disposed between the first and second internalelectrodes is 0.4 μm or less, an average thickness of each of the firstand second internal electrodes is 0.4 μm or less, and the number oflayers of the first and second internal electrodes is 400 layers ormore.
 16. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 10,wherein the phosphoric acid-based second phase is physically linked toanother phosphoric acid-based second phase.